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Negotiating A Personal Injury Settlement

When you negotiate with an adjuster, you should know what amount of money you hope to receive as compensation for your injuries. By the same token, the adjuster knows the amount of money that the insurance company expects to pay for the submitted claim. Yet neither of you know what figure the other side might eventually accept during the negotiations.

The process starts with a demand letter

Get a Personal Injury Lawyer in Waterloo to help with composing this letter. Most lawyers will not agree to work on a demand letter until the victim, in this case you, has reached the point of maximum medical improvement. Once you settle, you cannot seek more money, even if you develop more symptoms.

• Give the name of the defendant; give the date, time and location of the accident.
• Explain what happened.
• Include any supporting documents.

Have a figure in mind that is the minimum amount of money that you would accept. Put slightly higher figure in your demand letter, so that you can reduce your own offer a bit, in response to the adjuster’s offer.

Await the response from the adjuster

The adjuster might present a number of arguments for why you should lower your demand. If any argument is reasonable, you should respond in a positive manner. On the other hand, the adjuster might use those presented arguments as a reason for making a low-ball offer.

If that proves to be the case, then the correct response would be a letter asking for a further justification of that low ball offer. Suggest that the initial arguments are not strong enough in your mind to justify the making of such a low bid/offer.

Wait for the adjuster’s next call. Ask for a response to your letter. Be ready to make a counter-offer, but first see if the adjuster has chosen to raise that initial bid. You do not want to indicate that you might accept less than the adjuster is willing to mention.

If you and the adjuster agree on a figure:

That would suggest that the two of you were ready to settle. Still, you should not end the negotiations with an oral agreement. Instead, you should ask the adjuster to state in writing the amount of money that you can expect to get from the insurance company. Also ask for a date when that money will become available.

Tactics to use while negotiating with the adjuster.

Do not wait for the end of negotiations to press for a date. Any time that the adjuster’s call includes the promise that some piece of information will be coming, ask for the expected date of its arrival. Keep notes of the conversations that you have with the adjuster.